Exclusive-Mexico's Pemex destroyed resources worth $342 million from two
top fields
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[January 18, 2023] By
Stefanie Eschenbacher
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican state oil company Pemex illegally burnt
off hydrocarbon resources worth more than $342 million in the three
years up to August 2022 at two of its most important new fields,
internal documents from the country's oil regulator showed.
The three documents, produced by the regulator and dated August 2022,
detail how Pemex destroyed resources worth $275 million from the Ixachi
field in three years and $67 million from the Quesqui field in two
years.
To calculate the value, the regulator used prices from non-public
contracts to commercialize such hydrocarbons.
Neither Pemex nor the energy ministry responded to requests for comment.
Late last year, Pemex said it would stop the flaring practice at Ixachi
following Reuters reports on development plan violations at the two
fields and related fines.
Under pressure to meet ambitious production goals by Mexican President
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has repeatedly been fined by the oil
regulator for violating its own pledges for the development of the
Ixachi and Quesqui fields.
The plans, for the exploration and production of natural gas and other
hydrocarbons in the southeastern states of Veracruz and Tabasco, were
approved by the regulator - which is responsible for ensuring
compliance.
Burning off gas and condensate - a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons
similar to a very light crude oil - has also resulted in extensive
environmental damage.
Reuters reported last year that Pemex had been excessively flaring gas
across the region, but the value of the destruction has not previously
been reported.
Mexico - the world's eighth-biggest gas flarer - is under increasing
pressure, including from the United States, to cut the practice and
methane emissions.
Managing emissions is set to become more challenging as fields age and
the world's most indebted oil company lacks sufficient funds to upgrade
ailing infrastructure.
In Ixachi, the destruction was particularly dramatic because production
started a year earlier. There, the documents show Pemex burnt off some
62.9 billion cubic feet of gas and 310,000 barrels of condensate.
That is the equivalent of 31% of the total amount of gas produced from
the field, and 1.3% of total condensate, according to Reuters
calculations.
The documents were sent to the country's energy minister, Rocio Nahle,
the head of regulatory compliance at Pemex's exploration and production
arm, and senior officials at the regulator and the interior ministry.
[to top of second column] |
A worker takes measurements in front of
gas flares at the state energy company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex)
Perdiz Plant, which is unable to process the vast volumes of gas
sent from the Ixachi field, outside of Tierra Blanca, Mexico May 4,
2022. REUTERS/Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/File Photo
MISSING INFRASTRUCTURE
Pemex produced 201.2 billion cubic feet of gas and 24.3 million
barrels of condensate from Ixachi. But it still fell short of its
targets.
The documents also show that 77.6% of the investment into the field
Pemex had pledged in its development plan - totaling $2.9 billion -
were not made.
Lopez Obrador declared early on in his presidency that Ixachi and
Quesqui formed part of 17 new priority fields expected to
dramatically boost national production as part of a wider effort to
make the country energy independent.
The fields were meant to receive more resources so Pemex can start
exploration and production earlier and faster and make up for
declining production from ageing fields elsewhere.
But Pemex failed to complete the wells, pipelines and other
infrastructure needed to produce gas and condensate from the fields
without high levels of waste.
In Ixachi, the destruction of value from burning off condensate was
more than $21 million in three years; in Quesqui, it was almost $8
million in two years, the documents show.
It has not previously been reported that condensate was also burnt
off at the fields. Under Mexican law, documentation around such
violations is not made public.
"The objective should be to maximize making use of all hydrocarbon
products in the field," one of the documents said, adding that "(Pemex)
does not meet production it committed to because wells and
infrastructure are not in place".
In the documents, the regulator also recommends changes so that
Pemex "avoids the burning off and the destruction of commercial
value of the hydrocarbon products."
Pemex has historically deemed investing in infrastructure to explore
and produce gas too expensive and instead imported much of it from
the United States.
In recent years, it has come under pressure because of the
environmental damage associated with burning off gas.
Late last year, Pemex acknowledged in its updated business plan for
2023 to 2027 that its poor environmental, social and governance (ESG)
record risked hurting its financing as rivals were transitioning
faster to clean energies.
(Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer
and Lisa Shumaker)
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